Obesity as a Disease?

Last week the American Medical Association voted to classify obesity as a disease.  Obesity has been characterized as a major health concern, a complex disorder, and an urgent chronic condition.  It is reported that this move will add 78 million adults and 11 million children to the list of individuals needing treatment for a disease.  This will oblige physicians to offer treatment for an illness that requires no more than a visual assessment.   Is it really the physician’s responsibility?  I assume we all have a mirror. 

This begs the question, “what is disease”?  Perhaps obesity is just another symptom of a disease with a real underlying problem.  In a broad sense disease can be anything that impairs normal function.  The implications are huge.  Any new “disease” is worth big bucks to the pharmaceutical industry.  Add this to an overweight medical system with poor performance.  Will insurance companies be required to cover subsequent treatments?  It will more likely become a pre-existing condition for them to exclude coverage.  Some seek gastric bypass which generally results in them being uninsurable.  Will it open the door for individuals to get disability? 

In a world gone mad, the government food stamp program has contributed to the problem.  Covered items include soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, ice cream, bakery items, and energy drinks with a nutritional fact label.  The oversimplification is better food equals better health but not everyone has that luxury. 

The basic problem is too many calories of the wrong types of food verses the amount of calories burned.  Just for the record, obesity can include other factors such as food allergies, hormone balance, toxicity, addiction, and emotional considerations. 

Do we create our own disease?  Are we enabled to create our own disease?  Do we blame others for creating our disease?  Don’t think about this one too hard as it will be disruptive to your stress hormone system.

Stay Well!  It's your only chance!

Causes of Mental/Emotional Dis-ease: Depression, Anxiety, and Stress

While the mental emotional and spiritual can create disease, the opposite is also true.  There are physical situations that can create diseases of mental or emotional problems.  Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, or mercury are well known for this.  Remember the Mad Hatter that got mercury poisoning from the making of felt hats.

Environmental toxins such as the pesticide DDT (see blog) mimics estrogen and can play hormone havoc.  The pharmaceutical product of the pre -1950’s diethylstilbesterol (DES), a synthetic estrogen, was given to mothers to aide in a healthier baby.  The female offspring receiving the drug in the first trimester suffered from a rare form of cancer, infertility, and an increased incident of lesbian or bisexual orientation.  Any health problem can bring on anxiety and depression.  These horrors of the past are not currently taught in medical or pharmacy schools so we will likely repeat these errors.

Steroids such as prednisone or food allergies that increase cortisol can lower the working threshold of neurotransmitters in the brain, which can contribute to panic attacks, emotional instability, and attention deficit.

Today, a common drug therapy (proton pump inhibitors) that prevents the stomach from creating acid for digestion is a potential setup for such brain problems.  Acid is needed to breakdown protein into small enough components to be absorbed and to create many of our brain chemicals, known as neurotransmitters.  Most of our neurotransmitters are created in the gut. 

Neurotransmitters control nerve conduction and are either excitatory or inhibitory. They either speed up nerve conduction or slow it down.  Epinephrine or adrenaline, known to be the “fight or flight” neurotransmitter is excitatory.  Serotonin and GABA are examples of inhibitory neurotransmitters.  Serotonin is associated with depression and GABA is associated with anxiety.

Common antidepressants allow the serotonin to remain available longer hence increasing the excretion in the urine, therefore actually contributing to its depletion.  Some targeted amino acid (protein) therapy works to help build such neurotransmitters.    This provides the building blocks (precursors) for the body to make it’s own neurotransmitters.  Natural Creations product Inhibitory Neurotransmitter is a helpful intervention for depression.

Gaba is another neurotransmitter that may be viewed as the brains natural tranquilizer.   The supplement approach is Gaba Calm which can be helpful in anxiety, panic attacks and sleep.   HPA Calm is helpful for high stress anxiety related to elevated cortisol and racing thoughts. 

Stay Well

Underlying Cause of Disease

We are creatures of comfort.  If we are cold we may put on a coat or change the thermostat.  If you have some “dis-ease”, discomfort or symptom that is unpleasant you may seek help.  If you have a headache you may take an aspirin.  Aspirin was one of the first modern herb/drug products made from willow bark.  We are really a drug-orientated culture.  Is it wrong to take an occasional aspirin?  No but the key word here is occasional.

 

What was the cause of your headache?  It could be dehydration, constipation, stress, liver dysfunction, or hormone imbalance.  Any common symptom can have a variety of causes.  Conversely, any cause of disease, such as a toxin can display a different symptom in any given person.  The perfect example of this is all of the possible side effects a given drug can exhibit in a group of people.  Another great example is the many “natural” products that are multi-level marketed that make so many claims to “cure” this or that.  What works for one may not work for another!

The body’s first mechanism to eliminate a toxin is excretion.  Your nose runs, you vomit, you get diarrhea, or you sweat.  Even a woman’s monthly cycle could be part of this process.  Taking a drug makes the symptom go away by suppressing the signal, but it does not help eliminate the original reason for the problem.

Many drug therapies are started to compensate for lack of basic health such as good hydration, bowel function, and diet.  Unrecognized food allergies can be a major source of revenue for pharmaceutical companies.  The grains of the food pyramid are emerging as a major health risk for many.  Especially of you have an “O” blood type. 

The body is created with the ability to heal.  Unfortunately, there can be roadblocks to such healing.  Many roadblocks are self-induced.  Other roadblocks may include toxic substances such as pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, and over treatment with drugs and “natural” products. 

Excess supplementation could also put things out of balance.  Too little calcium can contribute to osteoporosis.  In the book, “The Reverse Effect”, too much calcium without the proper amount of magnesium can cause osteoporosis.  Balance is the key.

Stay Well!